Apparatus for sorting and feeding receptacle closure caps



1953 J c. JOHNSON ETAL 2, 56,807

APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND FEEDING RECEPTACLE CLOSURE CAPS Filed March 8, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTORS. J." l. Joiznsan BY ME Jbkasm 1953 J. c. JOHNSON ET AL 7 APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND FEEDING RECEPTACLEI CLOSURE CAPS Filed March s, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. JIC. Jminson W117. Jb/UISOAZ Patented Oct. 27, 1953 APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND FEEDING RECEPTACLE CLOSURE CAPS John C. Johnson, East Hempstead, N. Y., and Walter H. Johnson, Newmanstown, Pa.

Application March s, 1948, Serial No. 13,604

3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for sorting predeterminedly positioned receptacle closure caps and feeding thesorted receptacle closure caps to apparatus for assembling liners in said closure caps.

It is the object of the invention to provide apparatusof this character adapted to sort and feed closure caps having the same diameter and height.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application.

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus forming the embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, to more clearly show shorting drum and disk. 7

In carrying out the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, there is provided a standard 4 adapted to be supported in an elevated position by a base portion 5 thereof mounted on a suitable pedestal (not shown) positioned relative to an apparatus to which the closure caps are to be fed. The upper portion of the standard 4 is arranged with an annular member having an end portion 6 and another end portionu'! of larger diameter than and connected to the first end portion 6 by an intermediate portion 8 declining from the end portion I to the end portion 6. i

The standard 4 supports a hopper casing 9 having an open top In through which the casing is supplied with closure caps C and a bottom wall I l sloping toward a discharge opening [2 in the front wall of the casing. The hopper casing is mounted on, the annular member; 6 -8 of the standard 4 with the discharge opening I 2 centrally of and in spaced relation to the end portion 5 of said annular member by aseries of spacers l3 secured at one end in bosses on the lower semi-circular section'oi the end portion 8. The opposite ends of the spacers abut a flange l5 extending from the lower semi-circular portion of the discharge opening l2 and the spacers are secured to the flange l5 by bolts I6 engaged in perforations in said flange and the spacers, as shown in Figure 2. The closure caps leaving the casing 9 through the opening l2 will enter a tapering drum I! having a'fiange [8 extending laterally from theend of larger diameter and connected to said end by a curved portion I9. The drum is rotatably supported by the annular member 6-8 with the end of smaller diameter in register with the discharge opening l2 of the hopper casing 9 and the flange l8 rotatable in the portions 6 and 8 of the annular member. This is accomplished by a shaft 20 rotatably supported at one end portion in bearings 2| in parallelly spaced transverse portions 22 of a U-shaped arm having one leg por tion 23 pivotally supported by a pin 24 mounted at the opposite ends in spaced ears 25 laterally extended from the annular member portion 7 on opposite sides of the leg portion 23, as shown in Figure l. The otherleg portion 26 of the U- shaped arm is arranged with a bifurcated lateral extension 2! for the engagement of a hasp 28 piv otally mounted on the annular member portion 1 in diametrically opposed relation to the space between the ears 25. The U-shaped arm is secured to the hasp 28 by a wing nut 29 screw threaded on the hasp in abutment with the lat eral extension 21, as shown in Figure 1. The shaft 20 is driven from a suitable source of power. such as the drive shaft of the liner assembling apparatus, through a belt 30 engaged around a pulley on said drive shaft, not shown, and a pulley wheel 3| engaged on and secured by a pin 32 to the portion of the shaft 20 between the bearings 21. The mounting of the pulley wheel 3| on the shaft 20 inthis manner will prevent longitudinalmovement of the shaft.

The inner free end portionoi the shaft 2!) isof reduced diameter, as shown at 33, and supports the drum [1 by a spider comprising arms 34 fixed at one end to and extending inwardly from the drum with the opposite ends fixed to a hub 35 engaged on and secured to the reduced end 33 against rotation by a key 36. e The drum is retained against longitudinal movement on the reduced end portion 33 by a nut 31 screw threaded on the end of the reduced end portion 33 pro- Jecting from the hub with the inner end of the .hub abutting a shoulder 38 on the shaft 20 formed bythe reduced end portion 33. i

The outerexposed face of the drum flange i8 is arranged with an annular ridge of angularshape incross section, as shown in Figures 2 and. 3. The inner side portion 39 of said ridge is spaced from the curved connectingportion Is by a vertical face portion 58 and extends at an obtuse angle to'sa'id vertical face portion 58 of the flange. The outer side portion 40 of the annular ridge extends at an obtuse angle from the portion 39 to a point beyond theperiphery of the disk and is joined to said periphery by a beveled face 4| extending at an acute angle to the sideportion 40 and relative to the declining portion 8 of the annular member 3-8.

The curved connecting portion [9 and the ridge 39, 40 cooperate with a disk 42 rotatable with the drum l! to sort and feed closure caps having the closed end facing the curved connecting portion 9 and the ridge 39, 40 to a chute arranged in the portion ofthe aImula-rmember 8. 'adjacent to the vertical axis of the standard 4 and in said standard. Said chute is shown as comprising :a bottom wall 43 extending as a continuation of the annular member portion 8. and a cover of U-shape in cross section removably mounted on the bottom wall in any suitable manner, such as by screws engaged in lateral flanges of the side walls of the cover and the bottom wall, as shown at 44 in Figure 1 and the top wall portion of the cover extending in parallelly spaced relation to the bottom wall 43, as shown at 45 in Figures 2 and 3.

The disk '48 is adjustably mounted on a screw threaded portion 46 of the shaft 20 between the shaft portion supported by the bearings 21 and the reduced end portion 33 by a hub 41' in the center of the disk having intern-a1 screw threads to engage the screw threads of portion 46 and the outer free end split, as at 48. The split end portions are adapted to be drawn togethe to clamp the hub against rotation on the shaft portion by a screw '49 screw threaded in one of 1' 'alined openings in, the split portions, as shown in Figure 2. The loosening of the screw '49 will permit the hub and disk to be adjusted on the shaft portion and away from. the drum flange H3.

The inner face of the disk 42- is arranged with an annular series of protuberances or ribs 59 equidistantly spaced from each other and of angular shape in cross sec-tion. The inner side 5! 4'5, tov adjust the disk 42 toward of the angle of :each protuberance is in approxia mate horizontal alinement with the juncture of the curved connecting portion 19' with the tapering body of the drum H. The apex of the protuberances are provided with notches 5'2 havthe walls thereof extending at right to each other with one wall extending in a plane parallel to the plane of the inner side 5| of the protuberances- 56. The notches 52 are in approx-imate horizontal ali-nernent with the curved connecting portion l-9 of the The outer sides v '53 of the protuberanc'es 50' extend at an acute angle from the adjacent side of the notches 52 to an inner side portion 54 of an annular groove of angular shape in cross section with the angle extending below the inner face of the center portion of the disk. The outer side portion 55 of said annular groove extends at anobtuse angle from-the side portion 54"to a peripheral disk portion 56 extending at an obtuse angle. from the with the closed ends of the closure caps engaging the vertical face portion 58 of the drum flange [8.

The sides 39 and 40 of the annular ridge on the drum flange I8 cooperate with the opposed sides 54 and 55 of the annular groove in the inner face of the disk 42 to guide the closure cap in its sorted position with the open end facing the sides 54 and 55 to the chute 43, 45.

The. closure, cap is discharged from the chute 43, 4.5 into a chute 59 mounted at the upper end in a recess 60 in the standard 4, as shown in Figure 2. The lower end (not shown) of the chute 59 extends relative to the liner assembling apparatus.

When the disk 42 is clamped to the shaft portion 46, it will rotate with the drum H.

The closure caps C consist of skirt portion of a length equal to the diameter thereof and arranged with internal screw threads t adjacent to. the closed end of the closure caps, as shown in Figure 3., for the engagement of corresponding screw threads on the neck of a bottle.

. Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In apparatus for sorting and feeding closure caps, a hopper casing having a discharge opening, a drum rotatably mounted with one end inreg-ister with the discharge opening of the hopper casing and having a flange extending from the second end of the drum and arranged with an annular ridge on-the. exposed face there V of, and a disk rotatably mounted inspaced relation to the flanged end of the drum and having an annular series of protuberances equidistant- 1y spaced from each other on the inner face and spaced inwardly from the periphery of the disk, and said inner face of the disk having an annular groove spaced from the periphery of the disk and in opposed relation to the ridge of the flange of the drum to form an angular passage to permit passage of closure caps having the open ends facing the protub-erances.

angles groove side portion .55 in alinement with the top walluportion 45 of the chute cover and parallel of thebottorn wa1l43 of thechute.

The protuberances .50 extend from an annular ridge 5! on the inner face of the disk 42 a distance sufficient to permit closure caps having the open ends facing; the .protuberances to-enter the space between the protuberances and the curved connecting portion {9. of the drum, as shown in Figure 3. The protuberances will prevent theclosure caps having the closed ends racing the protuberances from entering said space between the protuberances and the curved connecting portion 19, as shown in Figure '2.

The notches 52- of the protuberances 50 permit protuberances 150 and the-curvedconnecting porrtion l9 to continue to pass through .sa-idlspace the closure r-caps entering the space-between the 2. Apparatus for sorting and feeding closure caps as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular groove in the disk and the annular ridge on the drum flange are of angular shape in cross section and the angle of the groove is in horizontal Y alinement with the inner side of the ridge and the angle of the ridge is in horizontal alinement with the outer side of the groove.

'3. Apparatus for sorting and feeding closure caps as claimed in-claim 1, wherein the outer edge of the ridge extends beyond the edge of the flange.

JOHN C. JOHNSON. WALTER. H. JOHNSON.

ReferencesfCited in the file of thispatent UNITED srn'rns PATENTS Number Name Date 732,995? Woodland 4. July '7, 1903 1 1,042,922 Johnson -Oct.29,1912 1 0953 01 Lawson -1 May's, 19-14 1,106,222 Johnson Aug. '4, 1914 1,562,599 suitor Nov. 24, 1925 1,116,620 7 Cherry v June 11,1929 .-l ,FZ6-'7,8'-l8- :Smulski 1 V June 24, 1930 1,575,141 v Bisser Sept. 9,1930 1,863,223 Kantor June 14, 1932 1,966,611 Meyer July: 1?, 1934 2 073;i'72 .Gantzer Mar. 9, 1937 2,112,291 Johnson -1; Man-29, 1938 angers 7 Johnson July 2c, 1938 234mm 

